Chapter 954 - 954 954 A Stones Throw Away from the End of
Chapter 954: Chapter 954: A Stone’s Throw Away from the End of the World! Chapter 954: Chapter 954: A Stone’s Throw Away from the End of the World! Earlier years spent bustling for livelihood were nonetheless filled with a sense of fulfillment.
Latterly, to protect that person he cared about in his heart, Ye Lei charged into battle, slaying enemies on the frontline. His numerous military merits were built upon blood and sweat, each report of victory accumulated over the corpses and bones of enemies. He never dared to slack in the slightest, even sleeping with one eye open, never leaving his knife while asleep. He never dared to sleep soundly for one day.
Now, he had silver and power, but that most important person, whom he longed to share it all with, was nowhere to be seen!
“Sisi, where are you? Why haven’t you appeared? Could you really have…” contracted smallpox?
Are you alright now? Have you ever thought about me? I miss you so much, it hurts…
Subconsciously, he covered his chest, the place closest to his heart.
It felt empty here, as if something was missing.
Looking up at the sky, following the line of low fences, he saw the last remnants of the sunset’s rosy glow on the horizon. It was about to get dark, but he had no desire to return home.
Without her, everywhere seemed chillingly cold.
Sisi, Sisi…
Leaning against the fence behind him, he quietly closed his eyes.
And just on the other side of the wall, Liu Sisi also leaned against the wall edge, gazing at the clouds on the horizon.
She had sat in the house all day, resting for a while when Granny Peng hurried back to cook at noon. She sat idly all afternoon. Waiting until Granny Peng returned, she was promptly chased out of the room to rest.
“Ye Lei, are you living well now? No, that’s not right! With a beautiful wife by your side, how could you possibly think of me?”
Liu Sisi laughed at herself mockingly, quietly touching the face towel covering her face.
Even through the towel, she could feel the pox sores covering her face, and even her voice had become terribly hoarse due to the sores in her throat. In such a state, how could she go back?
Maybe it’s better this way, better never to give them hope than to give them hope only to disappoint them again.
“Sisi, dinner is ready, come inside to eat.”
Granny Peng pushed open the old door and called out.
This call immediately woke Di Yelei, who was leaning against the outside wall of the fence. His eyes snapped open, a hopeful radiance flashing in their depths.
Was it Sisi? Did that elder woman just call out for Sisi, or was it a person with the same name?
He looked around, contemplating scaling the fence, yet he heard a hoarse voice from inside.
“Got it, mother-in-law, I’ll be right there.”
The voice sounded strange, too different from Sisi’s speaking voice. He couldn’t help but halt in his tracks.
Looking at this area, which appeared to be a slum, Sisi, even if she left home, would never be so destitute that she’d need to stay in a place like this.
He turned thinking to leave, yet looked back, unwilling to give up.
Perhaps he should go into the courtyard just to take a look, even just a glance would suffice. As long as it wasn’t Sisi herself, he would leave immediately!
“Old Master Marquis, Old Master Marquis, your servant has finally found you.”
Da Niu, panting heavily, ran over from behind and looked at Di Yelei with a face full of relief, “Old Master Marquis, over in East City they have discovered a married woman, who is said to resemble Madam greatly. Chief Steward Cheng has already rushed over there, what do you think, Old Master Marquis…?”
“What is there to think about! Since there is news, we must also hurry over there at once! Let’s go, don’t waste any more time!”
As soon as he heard there was news of Sisi, Di Yelei did not hesitate for a moment and turned to leave. Da Niu quickly followed.
The thought of going into the fence that had crossed his mind just now was long thrown to the back of his mind.
Crossing the courtyard to enter her house, Liu Sisi instinctively looked back, staring at the wall edge behind the room. This slum was right next to the north side city wall, and behind it was a narrow alley. She felt a sudden void in her heart as if something very important had drifted far away from her, making her brows instinctively knit together.
“Sisi, come inside and have your meal quickly. If it gets any later, not only will the cooked dishes be cold, but it will also be getting dark soon.”
Granny Peng’s calling voice came once again.
“Ah! I know, I’m coming.”
Liu Sisi shook her head to dispel the sudden surge of inexplicable emotions and returned to the room.
Granny Peng seemed to be in good spirits today, as she passed the bowl and chopsticks to Liu Sisi, “Here, eat quickly. After you’ve eaten your fill, try out the herbal medicine I collected for you today. This prescription is passed down by the hard laborers who work with me; it’s said to be particularly effective. I also gathered the herbs myself. Later tonight, I’ll boil it and bring it over for you to take.”
Since the day Liu Sisi was taken in by Granny Peng, Peng had brought all sorts of so-called “miracle cures” for Liu Sisi to take, be they for internal or external use. They had spent quite a sum on medicine, and Sisi had never refused any of it, no matter if it was for ingestion or application.
It wasn’t that she devalued her own life, but by then, she was simply treating her illness with a “dead horse as a living horse doctor” mentality.
Of course, so far, having ingested and applied these medicines, she had seen no improvement. There were even faint signs of a continued worsening of her condition.
Now, hearing that she was to take medicine again, Liu Sisi’s eyebrows didn’t twitch, and she silently accepted Granny Peng’s arrangements.
“This batch of medicine is different from the previous ones. This is a prescription passed down by others, which is particularly effective in removing weird toxins from the body. He even patted his chest and gave me a guarantee that the medicine will cure the ailment,” said Granny Peng, rambling on and on, and not long after dinner, she brought over a bowl of black medicine with a hopeful look on her face.
Such a gaze made it completely impossible for Liu Sisi to refuse. She took the bowl, cooled the contents with a blow, and drank it down in one gulp.
Granny Peng smiled with satisfaction!
“You take medicine so quickly, child. I’ve seen many Honorable Ladies take their medicine, spoonful by spoonful, with preserved fruit to accompany it—a bowl of soup medicine would take the time of drinking two cups of tea. Unlike you, who is straightforward and decisive.”
She had never asked Liu Sisi why she had ended up there.
Therefore, even when she saw a Missing Person Notice about Liu Sisi outside, she did not reveal a single piece of information.
In her view, a person who has a serious illness without a single person by their side is mostly likely abandoned by the husband’s family. And now that the husband’s family has come looking, it’s either to silence her or because there’s too much intrigue in the backyard. Especially after hearing the stories about Marquis Yongping and his concubine, she was even more certain of her assumptions.
Not telling Liu Sisi was out of a concern that knowing this would only add to her mental burden.
“What you don’t know, mother-in-law…”
Liu Sisi mumbled through her mouthful of the bitter taste of medicine. “This soup medicine, the slower you drink it, the more bitter it gets. They sip it spoonful by spoonful, not as if they’re taking medicine, but as if they’re slowly savoring the flavor in their mouths. Not to mention, the preserved fruit, which is also secretly made with various spices, when mixed into the soup medicine, might even alter the therapeutic effect of the medicine.”